Tiger Woods Wants $3 Million Just To Show Up For A Tournament

Tiger Woods, fully healthy, isn't waiting to kick off his 2013 schedule. Next week he's playing a European Tour event in Abu Dhabi, and the week after he'll be at Torrey Pines for his first PGA Tour stop. But if things had worked out a little differently—if Tiger's price wasn't too high even for a petrostate—he might not be coming stateside so soon.

Woods was invited to play a second European Tour event, the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters, but turned it down. Euro tournaments are allowed to offer players appearance fees, and Woods's was just too pricy for Qatar's taste:

"Tiger Woods demands $3 million just for an appearance, if he were to compete in the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters - which is not worth paying for a tournament of $2.5 million prize money," [president of the Qatar Golf Association] Hassan al Nuaimi said.

Woods's agent didn't deny the appearance fee—he just said Tiger "was never contemplating Qatar." Well, not if they're not going to pay him $3 million, duh.

[ Doha News]